Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

JUDICIARY ACT 1903 - SECT 55B

  (1)   Subject to this section, a person who:

  (a)   is for the time being entitled to practise as a barrister or solicitor, or as both, in the Supreme Court of a State; or

  (b)   is for the time being entitled, under a law (including this Act) in force in a Territory, to practise as a barrister or solicitor, or as both, in the Supreme Court of that Territory;

has the like entitlement to practise in any federal court.

  (2)   A person is not entitled to practise in a federal court as a solicitor by reason of paragraph   ( b) of the last preceding subsection unless:

  (a)   he or she has been admitted to practise as a solicitor or legal practitioner by the Supreme Court of the Territory; or

  (b)   he or she practises as a solicitor in the Territory and his or her sole or principal place of business as a solicitor is in the Territory.

  (3)   A person is not entitled to practise as a barrister or solicitor in a federal court by reason of subsection   ( 1) unless his or her name appears in the Register of Practitioners kept in accordance with the next succeeding section as a person entitled to practise in that capacity.

  (4)   A person who is, under subsection   ( 1), entitled to practise as a barrister or solicitor, or both, in any federal court has a right of audience:

  (a)   in any court of a State in relation to the exercise by the court of federal jurisdiction; and

  (b)   in any court of an internal Territory in relation to the exercise by the court of federal - type jurisdiction.

  (5)   The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of a State or an internal Territory may direct the Registrar or other proper officer of that Supreme Court to keep a Register of Practitioners for the purposes of subsection   ( 4) and, where such a Register is kept in a State or Territory, a person is not entitled, in a court of that State or Territory, to the right of audience referred to in subsection   ( 4) unless he or she is registered in that Register.

  (6)   Where a Register is kept in a State or Territory in accordance with subsection   ( 5), a person who satisfies the Registrar or other officer keeping the Register that he or she is a person referred to in subsection   ( 4) is entitled to be registered in that Register.

  (7)   Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory constituted by 2 or more Judges that a person who is registered in the Register kept in that State or Territory in accordance with subsection   ( 5) has been guilty of conduct that justifies it in so doing, the Supreme Court may order that person's registration be cancelled or be suspended for a specified period, but the Supreme Court may, at any time, order that the registration of the person be restored or that the suspension be terminated.

  (8)   The Registrar or other proper officer of the Supreme Court shall make such alterations and notations in a Register kept by him or her as are required by reason of orders of the Supreme Court under subsection   ( 7).

  (9)   Notwithstanding subsection   ( 6), where the registration of a person has been cancelled in accordance with subsection   ( 7) and has not been restored, or is for the time being suspended, that person is not entitled again to be registered in the Register except pursuant to an order under subsection   ( 7).

  (10)   In this section:

"federal-type jurisdiction" , in relation to a court of an internal Territory, means jurisdiction conferred on the court by or under a law of the Commonwealth, but does not include jurisdiction conferred on the court under an Act providing for the acceptance, administration or government of that Territory.